Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Can the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport sell enough tickets to San Diego?

Dumping ground

Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport

Call it the battle of the high-flying San Diego subsidy. Back in June, the board of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport voted to approve an “incentive package” valued at more than $1.3 million to entice Portland, Maine-based Elite Airways to begin regular flights between Mesa and San Diego. According to an account in the Arizona Republic, the six-month deal included “waived landing and terminal fees, cash for marketing and ‘revenue guarantees’ in which Gateway will compensate the airline for empty seats on flights that don’t generate enough passengers.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

If sufficient numbers of $140 tickets to San Diego aren’t sold for the nine weekly flights, the airport would end up forking over about $7000 for each partially unfilled plane. Located about 20 miles outside Phoenix on the site of what was the former Williams Air Force Base, the small airport has also been a “focus city” for Allegiant Airlines. But that company objected to the Elite payments, calling them unfair and threatening to move its base of operations to Phoenix Sky Harbor International airport.

As of last month, the fate of Allegiant’s tenancy was still up in the air. “While a move to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is likely at this point, the decision has not yet been made, and we will be sure to inform the public if and when a decision to move is made,” said a company email to the East Valley Tribune. Elite’s service to San Diego is expected to start sometime this month. Other of its routes include Branson, Missouri, to Denver, as well as flights between Newark, New Jersey, and Rockford, Illinois.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Downtown thrift shop offers three bands in one show

Come nightfall, Humble Heart hosts The Beat
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport

Call it the battle of the high-flying San Diego subsidy. Back in June, the board of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airport voted to approve an “incentive package” valued at more than $1.3 million to entice Portland, Maine-based Elite Airways to begin regular flights between Mesa and San Diego. According to an account in the Arizona Republic, the six-month deal included “waived landing and terminal fees, cash for marketing and ‘revenue guarantees’ in which Gateway will compensate the airline for empty seats on flights that don’t generate enough passengers.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

If sufficient numbers of $140 tickets to San Diego aren’t sold for the nine weekly flights, the airport would end up forking over about $7000 for each partially unfilled plane. Located about 20 miles outside Phoenix on the site of what was the former Williams Air Force Base, the small airport has also been a “focus city” for Allegiant Airlines. But that company objected to the Elite payments, calling them unfair and threatening to move its base of operations to Phoenix Sky Harbor International airport.

As of last month, the fate of Allegiant’s tenancy was still up in the air. “While a move to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is likely at this point, the decision has not yet been made, and we will be sure to inform the public if and when a decision to move is made,” said a company email to the East Valley Tribune. Elite’s service to San Diego is expected to start sometime this month. Other of its routes include Branson, Missouri, to Denver, as well as flights between Newark, New Jersey, and Rockford, Illinois.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Birding & Brews: Breakfast Edition, ZZ Ward, Doggie Street Festival & Pet Adopt-A-Thon

Events November 21-November 23, 2024
Next Article

Spa-Like Facial Treatment From Home - This Red Light Therapy Mask Makes It Possible

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader